706 research outputs found
Discrete breathers for understanding reconstructive mineral processes at low temperatures
Reconstructive transformations in layered silicates need a high tem- perature
in order to be observed. However, very recently, some systems have been found
where transformation can be studied at temperatures 600 C below the lowest
experimental results previously reported, including sol-gel methods. We explore
the possible relation with the existence of intrinsic localized modes, known as
discrete breathers. We construct a model for nonlinear vibrations within the
cation layer, obtain their parameters and calculate them numerically, obtaining
their energies. Their statistics shows that although there are far less
breathers than phonons, there are much more above the activation energy, being
therefore a good candidate to explain the reconstructive transformations at low
temperature.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figure
Matter X waves
We predict that an ultra-cold Bose gas in an optical lattice can give rise to
a new form of condensation, namely matter X waves. These are non-spreading 3D
wave-packets which reflect the symmetry of the Laplacian with a negative
effective mass along the lattice direction, and are allowed to exist in the
absence of any trapping potential even in the limit of non-interacting atoms.
This result has also strong implications for optical propagation in periodic
structuresComment: 5 pages, 2 figure
A comparison of human chorionic gonadotropin and luteinizing hormone releasing hormone on the induction of spermiation and amplexus in the American toad (Anaxyrus americanus).
BACKGROUND: Captive breeding programs for endangered amphibian species often utilize exogenous hormones for species that are difficult to breed. The purpose of our study was to compare the efficacy of two different hormones at various concentrations on sperm production, quantity and quality over time in order to optimize assisted breeding. METHODS: Male American toads (Anaxyrus americanus) were divided into three separate treatment groups, with animals in each group rotated through different concentrations of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog (LHRH; 0.1, 1.0, 4.0 and 32 micrograms/toad), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG; 50, 100, 200, and 300 IU), or the control over 24 hours. We evaluated the number of males that respond by producing spermic urine, the sperm concentration, percent motility, and quality of forward progression. We also evaluated the effects of hCG and LHRH on reproductive behavior as assessed by amplexus. Data were analyzed using the Generalized Estimating Equations incorporating repeated measures over time and including the main effects of treatment and time, and the treatment by time interaction. RESULTS: The hormone hCG was significantly more effective at stimulating spermiation in male Anaxyrus americanus than LHRH and showed a dose-dependent response in the number of animals producing sperm. At the most effective hCG dose (300 IU), 100% of the male toads produced sperm, compared to only 35% for the best LHRH dose tested (4.0 micrograms). In addition to having a greater number of responders (P < 0.05), the 300 IU hCG treatment group had a much higher average sperm concentration (P < 0.05) than the treatment group receiving 4.0 micrograms LHRH. In contrast, these two treatments did not result in significant differences in sperm motility or quality of forward progressive motility. However, more males went into amplexus when treated with LHRH vs. hCG (90% vs. 75%) by nine hours post-administration. CONCLUSION: There is a clear dichotomy between the two hormones' physiological responses on gamete production and stimulation of amplexus. Understanding how these two hormones influence physiology and reproductive behaviors in amphibians will have direct bearing on establishing similar breeding protocols for endangered species
Modulation instability, Akhmediev Breathers and continuous wave supercontinuum generation
Numerical simulations of the onset phase of continuous wave supercontinuum
generation from modulation instability show that the structure of the field as
it develops can be interpreted in terms of the properties of Akhmediev
Breathers. Numerical and analytical results are compared with experimental
measurements of spectral broadening in photonic crystal fiber using nanosecond
pulsesComment: 22 pages, 6 figure
Frequency selection by soliton excitation in nondegenerate intracavity downconversion
We show that soliton excitation in intracavity downconversion naturally
selects a strictly defined frequency difference between the signal and idler
fields. In particular, this phenomenon implies that if the signal has smaller
losses than the idler then its frequency is pulled away from the cavity
resonance and the idler frequency is pulled towards the resonance and {\em vice
versa}. The frequency selection is shown to be closely linked with the relative
energy balance between the idler and signal fields.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Phys Rev Let
Full-time dynamics of modulational instability in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates
We describe the full-time dynamics of modulational instability in F=1 spinor
Bose-Einstein condensates for the case of the integrable three-component model
associated with the matrix nonlinear Schroedinger equation. We obtain an exact
homoclinic solution of this model by employing the dressing method which we
generalize to the case of the higher-rank projectors. This homoclinic solution
describes the development of modulational instability beyond the linear regime,
and we show that the modulational instability demonstrates the reversal
property when the growth of the modulation amplitude is changed by its
exponential decay.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, text slightly extended, a reference adde
Two dimensional modulational instability in photorefractive media
We study theoretically and experimentally the modulational instability of
broad optical beams in photorefractive nonlinear media. We demonstrate the
impact of the anisotropy of the nonlinearity on the growth rate of periodic
perturbations. Our findings are confirmed by experimental measurements in a
strontium barium niobate photorefractive crystal.Comment: 8 figure
Variational Approach to the Modulational Instability
We study the modulational stability of the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation
(NLS) using a time-dependent variational approach. Within this framework, we
derive ordinary differential equations (ODEs) for the time evolution of the
amplitude and phase of modulational perturbations. Analyzing the ensuing ODEs,
we re-derive the classical modulational instability criterion. The case
(relevant to applications in optics and Bose-Einstein condensation) where the
coefficients of the equation are time-dependent, is also examined
Polarisation Patterns and Vectorial Defects in Type II Optical Parametric Oscillators
Previous studies of lasers and nonlinear resonators have revealed that the
polarisation degree of freedom allows for the formation of polarisation
patterns and novel localized structures, such as vectorial defects. Type II
optical parametric oscillators are characterised by the fact that the
down-converted beams are emitted in orthogonal polarisations. In this paper we
show the results of the study of pattern and defect formation and dynamics in a
Type II degenerate optical parametric oscillator for which the pump field is
not resonated in the cavity. We find that traveling waves are the predominant
solutions and that the defects are vectorial dislocations which appear at the
boundaries of the regions where traveling waves of different phase or
wave-vector orientation are formed. A dislocation is defined by two topological
charges, one associated with the phase and another with the wave-vector
orientation. We also show how to stabilize a single defect in a realistic
experimental situation. The effects of phase mismatch of nonlinear interaction
are finally considered.Comment: 38 pages, including 15 figures, LATeX. Related material, including
movies, can be obtained from
http://www.imedea.uib.es/Nonlinear/research_topics/OPO
- …